


the art of sales and falling in love

by actuallyshua



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Office, Attempt at Humor, Dialogue Heavy, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, This is not how offices are run and OP knows that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-08-10 08:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20132332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actuallyshua/pseuds/actuallyshua
Summary: Office romances are strictly prohibited. Thankfully, Ten wasn't interested.Or -Pranks are Yukhei's love language and everyone can see that except for Ten.





	the art of sales and falling in love

If you were to look at Ten's resume, sparkling and impressive, one of the first things you would see listed under "strengths" would be _Team Player. _

And he meant it when it wrote it, all that time ago. 

Ten always excelled in close environments. The types of places where coworkers felt more like family. Where break room lunches felt like picnics in parks with the sun shinning. Where he could crack a less than savory and certainly not office appropriate joke but still receive plenty of laughter in return. 

He still meant it to this day. 

But now his patience for being a team player was running thin.

Especially because his current team consisted of Wong Yukhei. 

Ten was watching with narrowed eyes as Yukhei was tapping his pen against the hardwood of his desk, an audible _clink_ happening each time the metal would collide with the surface. Why his boss had placed the two of them together, he would never understand. They weren't friends. But when they did engage in any sort of back and forth, it was always spit fire and quick retorts and mostly harmless but still poison insults. Ten found Yukhei irritating and Yukhei found Ten pompous. 

Well, he thought to himself for a moment, maybe _that's exactly why _Kun had put them together. 

Maybe this was Kun's sick way of making it all stop. 

"Can you please stop tapping your pen like that," Ten finally spoke up, "We need to actually start on this project, you know?" 

"Yeah, yeah," Yukhei waved him off, tossing the pen to the side, "I know. Can we start after lunch, though? I'm starving." 

Ten scoffed at this, closing his notebook quickly, "I saw you eat seven of the donuts Donghyuk brought in. How on Earth could you possibly be hungry right now?" 

"I'm a growing boy." Yukhei smiled, cocky and teasingly. It made Ten's skin crawl. 

He'd had the displeasure of knowing Yukhei for just over two years now and Ten would try and think of a time when it wasn't like this. But maybe they just got off on the wrong foot and continued to walk with it. Like breaking a leg but never wearing a cast. Ten was feeling bright and chipper on his first day. Button up neatly pressed and briefcase in hand, he greeted everyone he saw with a friendly "hello" and a smile. Kun, the boss he more often than not just called his friend, was kind enough to show him around, introduce him to the need to know faces, and escort him to his desk.

His desk that was occupied by Yukhei. Feet up, head back against the chair, coffee stains abound. 

Yukhei had smiled when Kun cleared his throat, slapping the desk a few times before saying, "I was just warming it up for you." 

Ten never had a work enemy before. In fact, he'd never really had any sort of enemy. But since that day, Yukhei had made his days full of eye rolls and higher stress levels that were certainly unhealthy for someone in his young age. 

"Fine. Lunch first and then brainstorming. Do you know if Donghyuk is running out and getting anything?" 

"Not sure. Let's find out," Yukhei leaned back and Ten braced himself as the man cupped his hands around his mouth, "Donghyuk!" 

At an unsurprising speed, the intern appeared besides Yukhei's desk, "Yes! What do you need?" 

"Are you taking lunch orders?" 

Ten watched Donghyuk's smile falter a bit and felt bad. Being an intern sucked. Being an office intern was a different kind of suck. He started working here to gain knowledge, to shadow salesmen and hear all their secrets of success. But most days, he was bringing coffee to Yuta or somehow carrying thirteen pizza boxes in one trip. Ten would usually try and sneak him into a sales call when Johnny or Jaehyun would be looking for him to make copies, hoping he could give the boy at least an ounce of valuable information to walk away with. 

"I haven't, no one has asked for anything. But I can get you something!" 

Yukhei spared Ten a glance with a look that he couldn't read before shaking his head once and patting Donghyuk's arm, "Nah, no worries, kid. Ten and I were just about to run to the bakery anyway," He pointed a finger gun cheekily at Donghyuk, "Chocolate chip muffin?" 

Ten watched the interaction with curious eyes, Donghyuk's smile growing with Yukhei's kindness, "If you wouldn't mind." 

"Not a problem. We'll be back in a bit," He turned back to Ten, "Shall we?"

And he guessed they shall. 

Ten gathered his things and tried to catch up to Yukhei's quick stride as they exited the office, waving just a few times to Sicheng, who manned the front desk. Ten made the mistake of calling him the secretary once. Never again. 

"That was," He started as they stepped onto the elevator, clearing his throat once, "Really nice of you. You know, not making Donghyuk run and get us something." 

Yukhei just shrugged once, "He does enough of that. It's not a big deal." 

It wasn't a big deal, really. But Ten didn't often get to relish in the moments of Yukhei's kindness and he hated how sweet it was to witness. Ten did his best to often ignore Yukhei's warm moments. When he'd shake the vending machine for Sicheng when the chips would get stuck. When he'd come in early every Thursday to buy everyone a coffee. When Ten could hear him making sales calls and he'd always remember little details about his clients, genuinely seeming to care about their lives. 

None of those things canceled out all of the times Yukhei would be "stretching his legs" as Ten would walk by, tripping him up. Or how all of Ten's pens would go missing from time to time. Or that one time when all of his office phone calls were forwarded to his cell phone, but his cell phone just happened to go missing, the ringtone loudly coming from a location he finally found to be the vending machine. 

The two spent the rest of their walk in silence before arriving at the small cafe across from their building. Ten was always fond of this place. It was a tight yet comfortable environment, with mismatched tables and chairs, worn out couches with books laid all around them. He'd sometimes come here after a long day and take the table by the window, destressing over a hot mug of chai tea. 

He recognized the face behind the counter and smiled brightly, "Hi, Jeno." 

"Hey guys! You got stuck with the office coffee run today?" 

Yukhei spoke up before Ten, "Nope. Just the two of us today." 

Jeno looked at them, to and fro, before cocking a smile, "Great! What can I get for you guys?" 

"I'll have a large chai tea, hot please."

"Hot? It's like a heat wave out there." Yukhei looked down at him with his eyebrows creased.

Ten just shrugged at this, wordlessly replying. 

"Fine, fine," Yukhei waved one of his hands before turning back to Jeno, "Large iced latte and a chocolate chip muffin." 

He was quick to open his wallet and grab his card, Ten shaking his head and digging into this own pocket.

"I can pay for mine."

This made Yukhei laugh for whatever reason, nudging Ten away from Jeno's register with his larger frame, "Consider it a sympathy coffee for being stuck with me on this project."

"You two are working together," Jeno joined in the conversation again, "What did you do to deserve that?" The question was direct at Ten, and that alone made him chuckle. 

"You know, I'm not sure. I like to think I've been a pretty good person my whole life." 

"I'm literally right here." Yukhei pouted, fake and <strike>adorable.</strike>

"You know that's never stopped me before." Ten quickly retorted and that was enough to keep Yukhei quiet during the rest of their time in the cafe.

They bid farewell to Jeno and with a brisk walk, made it back to the office in no time. Enough dilly dallying around, Ten just wanted this project done and put neatly in his past. 

The rest of the day went by exactly as Ten had expected. He and Yukhei were a silent partnership, only sharing ideas every so often, mostly keeping their eyes on their own computers and dividing up the work evenly. 

He wasn't surprised by Yukhei's efficiency. 

What Yukhei lacked in manners and simple tact, he made up for with his professionalism in what he did. Ten would never say it out loud, but he quite admired how good Yukhei was at his job. He'd overheard the sales calls, sat in presentations that the other had put on for the company, listened to the Christmas party speeches that Kun would give, always sure to single out Yukhei and his job well done. And it wasn't that Ten was jealous, no. He was competitive. He didn't see Yukhei as anyone to envy, he saw him as someone to beat. 

Yukhei would bounce little remarks off of him every once in a while, seemingly trying to create small talk between the two of them. He asked about Ten's roommate, Ten finding himself surprised that Yukhei even remembered his name. But he paid no mind to that. Ten just wanted his office days to go back to normal. Only encountering Yukhei when his calculator would be missing or his pens were all mysteriously out of ink. 

The minutes melded into hours and it seemed that the end of their workday slapped Ten in the face. The slap came in the form of Yukhei loudly groaning, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes. 

"Well, that's enough for today, yeah?"

Ten looked up at the clock, blinking a few times as his eyes needed to adjust to life away from his laptop, "Yeah, seems so." 

"Any fun plans for the weekend? Slashing tires? Maybe yelling at some innocent children for playing in your yard?" 

Ten rolled his eyes, "No. I'm going to go home and drink away the memories of spending the day with you." 

There was a flash of an emotion Ten didn't quite recognize that hit Yukhei's face before the man gathered himself and his belongings, swinging his blazer over his shoulder, "Good luck with that. I'll try and finish my section of the work before Monday so we can be done with this. I'll email it to you. Have a good weekend, Ten." 

Well.

That wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

Ten watched Yukhei walk away with narrowed eyes and a swirling mind. 

There was no clever retort, no snarky laughs or rolled eyes. 

Maybe he was sitting there for too long, just staring at the blank space where Yukhei used to be, because a small hand waved in front of his eyes and Ten jumped, returning to reality very quickly. Donghyuk was standing there with a smile on his lips, eyes bright as they always were. 

"What are you still doing here?"

"Kun is having me make some copies for him," The intern held up a stack of papers, "But he's paying me overtime so it's fine. Are you okay? You've just been sitting here for like ten minutes." 

And really, he technically was okay. A little confused, maybe slightly concerned, but overall okay.

"Yeah. It was just a long day." 

"Yukhei wear you down? I'm sorry but I had to laugh when I found out you guys were working together. I know you have a little tension." 

Yukhei didn't wear him down. 

He didn't really do anything, come to think of it. He talked, he worked, he left. 

Maybe that's why Ten's mind was spinning with ideas and theories. Because he didn't get the chance to snap back at the man, to call him names or tell him to be quiet. Ten thought back to what he had said to Yukhei. It was just a joke, really. The drinking away of the memory of Yukhei. His memory of today was boring, if he was being honest. He thought back to the face Yukhei had made. It was one Ten had never seen before, an emotion he couldn't quite put his finger on in the moment. But now he could. 

"No," He sighed and set his pen down, swallowing his pride for a moment, "Actually he didn't. And I think I may have taken our little tift a little too far and said something dumb that hurt his feelings. He usually deserves a good jab, you know? But he didn't that time." 

Donghyuk looked around, probably scanning for Kun, before sitting down in Yukhei's empty office chair, "I'm sure he's fine! You guys are always going back and forth." 

"This was different. It was just an off handed comment but, I don't know. He seemed upset about it." 

"Well, you can always say you're sorry on Monday! Maybe bring him one of those donuts he likes. Yukhei likes you so I'm sure he'll forgive you." 

Ten looked up at Donghyuk quickly, furrowing his eyebrows together, "What?" 

"Uh," Donghyuk paused, "Bring him a donut? He likes the chocol-"

"No, not the donut. He likes me? You've got to be kidding me. Yukhei and I hate each other. It's like," Ten stopped, trying to find his wording, "Our thing." 

Donghyuk stared at him for a moment, the silence making Ten anxious. 

"I didn't think you guys actually hated each other. His pranks and stuff, it's all just fun and games. To ruffle your feathers, you know? He pokes at all of us but you more than anyone," Donghyuk fiddled with the corner of a sheet of paper, "I think it's just his weird, childish way of communicating and getting attention. You actually hate him?" 

Ten opened his mouth to answer.

To say yes. He hated Yukhei.

Ten was a lot of things. He was smart and strong and quick on his feet. He was witty and charming, kind and assertive. But he wasn't a liar. And if he said he really, truly hated Yukhei, he'd be lying. 

<strike>He didn't hate him.</strike>

He found him loud and irritating and only sometimes funny. 

And yes, if you'd ask him over several glasses of wine, maybe he'd say handsome. But everyone in the office would say that. 

"I have to go, it's getting late," He opted for dismissal, of himself and the question, "Don't let Kun keep you here too late, alright? Have a good weekend."

Donghyuk looked disappointed with the answer but let it slide quickly, bidding Ten the same well wishes as he gathered up his papers and disappeared into the copy room.

Ten let Donghyuk's words fester within him on the walk to his car. On the ride to his apartment. On the way to his bed. And even when he was lying awake, staring up at his ceiling. 

He realized he and Yukhei had never actually spoken the word "hate." 

He'd never been angry enough to say it. To mean it. 

They fell into their cat and mouse game so easily. No one asked questions, they just knew Ten and Yukhei would bicker and pick at each other. Push each other's buttons until one would groan and throw up a white flag. 

Ten thought to the last time he'd been truly annoyed with Yukhei.

This morning with the pen tapping didn't count, he thought, he was just mildly irritated.

Maybe it was when Yukhei had Christmas wrapped Ten's entire desk, bows and all. 

No. That wasn't it. Because when Yukhei had proudly stated "Merry Christmas, Ten!" and walked away, Ten couldn't help but laugh to himself as he unwrapped his keyboard. 

"Oh god," Ten groaned, pulling his pillow over his face, "I don't hate him." 

The rest of Ten's weekend went by just the same. The crushing realization that Yukhei wasn't his sworn enemy but really just a child in a grown mans body, playing pranks and spewing jokes at Ten's expense just to cause a ruckus. He had an in depth talk with Kunhang, his roommate, about it.

But Kunhang was a terrible person to talk about this with.

"He does it because he's in love with you, I've been telling you for years!" He'd always say. But Kunhang saw everything as a movie. A shitty romantic comedy that would end with someone being swept away in strong arms and loose lips. That wasn't Ten's life. Yukhei did not love him. Yukhei liked him a little, at best. 

Monday proved to be a day of motivation. Of getting to the bottom of this, of everything. 

Ten arrived at the office second, Sicheng always first. The man looked at him with raised eyebrows as he walked in, "You're here early."

He didn't have an excuse for this. 

"I uh," Ten cleared his throat, "Wanted to get a head start on this project."

Sicheng hummed, turning back to his computer, "Did you bring enough donuts for the class?"

Ten flushed at this, hiding the single donut bag behind him, "No. I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to apologize to me for."

God, Ten hated how cryptic Sicheng could be. He'd never understand how Kun could deal with that. It was like listening to a wise old wizard speak in riddles.

Regardless, Ten knew Yukhei would be coming in any moment. He was also an early riser, always greeting Ten when he'd walk into the office with a wide smile and ridiculous wave. He had to beat him this time. 

So, he waited.

He pretended to be typing away on his computer, actually typing nonsense into a blank word document, eyes glancing up at the door every so often. Not that it mattered. Sicheng wasn't paying attention to him. The man was actually do his work. 

A little before 9, Ten heard the office door open and looked to see Yukhei enter, stopping in his tracks when their eyes met before quickly continuing to his desk.

"Early morning?"

"I brought you a donut."

Very smooth, he kicked himself.

Yukhei smiled at this, taking the bag Ten was holding out, "Geez, what's the occasion? Is it my birthday? I didn't forget this year, I'm sure of it." 

Ten resisted to urge to roll his eyes, "I wanted to say sorry for what I said on Friday. I know we fight, or whatever, but what I said wasn't funny. It was mean and I'm sorry." 

Yukhei's eyes widened and Ten didn't blame him. Along with the word hate, sorry was another one that had never been spoken between the two of them. 

"Oh. Uh," Yukhei looked down at the bag before locking eyes with Ten again, "That's really nice. But you don't have to say sorry. I get it. Part of our thing, you know?"

But he didn't know. He used to, maybe. But not anymore.

"Actually, can we go somewhere to talk?" 

Yukhei looked like he was weighing his options in his mind. If maybe Ten was going to corner him in private and jump him, finally snapping. But ultimately, he agreed and the two found themselves on the roof. Ten had never been up here before. It was quiet, serene.

"I sometimes come up here to clear my head. The maintenance guys don't like it too much but," Yukhei plopped down and Ten joined him, "They've started to leave me alone. But anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

Ten took a moment to collect his thoughts, wanting everything to come out perfectly and clearly.

But his nerves got the best of him.

"I don't hate you." Ten blurted out. 

This made Yukhei chuckle, he was busying himself with kicking a rock gently back and forth.

"That's uh, very nice to hear. I don't hate you either."

"So, what happened?" 

Yukhei looked up at the sky for a moment, Ten deciding to follow his eyes. Everything seemed different up here. The sky was clearer, the clouds lazily moving by seemed fluffier. 

Despite the traffic below them, it was silent. 

"Your first day. I tried to be funny, you know? I did something similar to Johnny and he cracked up. But you seemed so mad, so annoyed with me. And I guess I'm just weird about people not liking me. So, I tried again. And again. But the more I tried, the more you bit back," Yukhei was looking at him now but this time, Ten was too afraid to do the same, "I guess I just fell into it. Trying to get your attention with little pranks only ended negatively, so I just rolled with the punches. The little remarks back and forth. I figured hey, negative attention is better than none. Yesterday was the only time something you said really hurt my feelings, I guess."

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I really am. Despite how it seems, I don't want that."

He meant it. 

"Thank you. It's okay, all is forgiven."

But it wasn't over. Ten still had questions. Many more than he did before.

"Everyone in the office loves you. Why do you want my attention so badly?"

There was a deep breath that came from Yukhei, joined by closed eyes and a slight cocking of his head. Ten braced himself for whatever was going to happen next. 

"Yeah, everyone loves me. But everyone isn't you. There's only one Ten, you know? Only one you. Here's a story for you. I still remember when you came in for your interview. I didn't know what you were here for but I just remember being amazed. You move with such confidence and carry yourself like no one here does," Yukhei shook his head, "It's amazing. You're amazing. And I," He paused this time, swallowing lightly before exhaling, "And I like you. But I'm always bad at that stuff, you know? I could've walked up to you. Could've said hi, I think you're beautiful. But instead I left coffee stains on your desk, and put your phone in the vending machine, and wrapped your desk, and took the screws out of your chair. I was really excited when I found out we'd be working together. But I knew you'd hate it. So I tried to keep it together, best behavior and all that. But Friday just showed me that it wouldn't matter." 

And oh, Ten could cry.

Yukhei looked so vulnerable in this light.

No pranks to hide behind, no jokes to sling.

Just him and his honesty. His fears. 

"You think I'm beautiful?" Ten whispered, fearing that if he spoke any louder, his voice would break.

"Of course I do," Yukhei huffed, clearing his throat before looking at Ten with a grin, "I have eyes you know."

This broke the tension, if only a little bit.

"Shut up," Ten reached out, shoving him lightly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you feel that way and for not seeing your intentions. I think that," He chose his next words carefully, "I think we should go easy on each other. I guess it wouldn't kill me to actually get to know you." 

Yukhei bit his lip for a brief moment, looking at Ten again, "Dinner is a good way to do that."

The air was so much lighter now, Ten was sure he would fly away at any moment. Without the shackles of awkwardness and never really knowing intent weighing them down, there was nothing but up. 

"Are you asking me on a date, Yukhei?"

"Nah," He stood up quickly, brushing the dirt off his pants, "Good prank though, right?"

Ten couldn't begin to describe the way his mind kicked into overdrive. His face was red, he could tell from the heat radiating off of it, and his ears were filled with the sounds of Yukhei laughing.

"Oh my god," He spoke between wheezes, "I'm so bad at this. I'm so sorry. Your face. God, okay. I'm sorry. No jokes. No pranks," He reaches his hand out to Ten, "Just dinner, yeah?" 

Ten glared at him, slapping Yukhei's hand away as he stood up on his own, placing a stiff finger to the man's chest, "You're paying." 

Yukhei looked down at Ten's finger, his laughter sizzling down to tiny chuckles before falling silent. He reached up and took Ten's hand, Yukhei's large fingers encapsulating his own. They stayed like that for a moment. Everything between them now clear, bright, full of hope and something that neither of them were confident enough to call a future. But happy enough to call _something_. 

Yukhei gave Ten's hand a small squeeze, "Deal." 

**Author's Note:**

> this was a second commission for my dear friend theo 
> 
> THANK YOU THEO FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH ME ON THIS ONE GOD I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUU
> 
> i've never written ten or yukhei before so my brain way poopoo for a long time
> 
> but! in the end, i had a lot of fun with this one and am pretty proud with how it turned out huhu
> 
> thank you theo, i love you so so much <3
> 
> also i know the summary says   
office romances are strictly prohibited   
but sicheng and kun are dating  
KUN IS THE BOSS AND HR IS TOO SCARED TO FACE SICHENG mind your business


End file.
